Husk Chanter Reeds

[Fillmore]

Originally Posted by Shawn Husk

Hi Eric, glad they are working out well for you. Best for the reedmaker to be a touch too strong than too light....anyway, I'd give it another week of playing. If they are still a touch too hard at that point please sand them a wee bit as per my video here. Just a very few light swipes on each side should do the trick. It's easy to go too far when you're that close already.

Shawn

I will be patient and give it every chance to mellow out on it's own before taking sandpaper to it. I would hate to mess up the nice Husk Reeds logo !

Excellent Video by the way.

Thanks !

[Shawn Husk]

Macleod, yes I do. I ship anywhere in the world, no problem.

@Eric, haha! Yeah, the logo is pretty sweet!

Shawn

[Mike F]

Gee folks,
I just saw the clip on sanding a Husk reed by some fellow in a beard that had a tad bit of gray in it. He had a shirt on and it said Shaw Husk on one side and Husk reeds on the other. Anyone know who this dude is...looks like one of them Smith Brothers who makes the cough drops! Ha... he's the man ...that King of Cane he is!

Mike F

[Shawn Husk]

Haha!

[Macleod]

Well I've just had my first 15 minutes blow with a husk reed and so far it has exceeded my expectations! I'm not one for believing hypes or jumping on bandwagons and it was just out of sheer curiosity that I decided purchase a reed from Mr Husk. I've had loads of problems getting a decent sound from my Poly McC2 solo chanter since I bought it a couple of months ago. I was on the verge of thinking that maybe the chanter was never going to sound as good as i'd hoped but I realise now all that was reed problems (thank god!).
Straight out of the box the reed mouth was looking pretty wide so i gave it a light 10 sec pinch and then set the low A and high A with the tuner at 475KHz. Straight away in the pipes the reed felt great with superb clarity all the way up and down the scale. The other reeds i've tried so far have sounded really squawky/thin/crowy at the top of the scale and i've not had much success with chanter tape either. I really thought the £130 chanter was fubar. All i needed was a decent reed though!
The reed strength feels really tailored to my blowing straight away and if it gets even easier once its fully blown in then even better, my pipes will be a doddle to play.

The thing i'm really happy with is the fact that I only had to buy one reed. When I was younger i remember sifting though boxes and boxes of the buggers trying to find a decent one.

Anyways i'm off to blow this reed in. It's a shame my old instructor Norman Gillies isn't still alive, i reckon he would've given me no end of grief for using an American reed

All the best

[North Idaho Piper]

Hey Shawn,

How do your reeds work in a mid-80's Naill ABW chanter? I've been playing McPhee and they work well but would like to try yours also.

Karl

[Shawn Husk]

I'm playing what I assume is an early 1990's Naill chanter and the reed is giving good results. This chanter though had some issues that I had to correct, flat bottom hand, C, D, B and low G...... Top hand is gorgeous.

Shawn

[usmcpiper]

I have to throw in a serious plug for Shawn and his fantastic reeds. Since this review deals with his chanter reeds, I won't comment (again) on how marvelous his cane drone reeds are. However, I will say that I have been extremely satisfied with the consistency and tone produced by Shawn's chanter reeds. I use them exclusively in my late-1970s Naill, MacLellan Bb, MacLellan Gael, Colin Kyo, and (now sold) modern Lee Model Naill. In every chanter, I get that consistent quality right out of the box and am always impressed with my Piobaireachd High G. Now, whenever I need replacements, all I do is let Shawn know what chanter I need a reed for, and he ships it out, already dialed in to my desired strength...no worries. In addition, Shawn is fantastic at taking the time to work with the chanter and the reed. I have sent several chanters to him for minor adjustments and have always enjoyed great results.

I heartily recommend Shawn Husk for all your reed needs. It is especially nice to have such a knowledgeable and approachable craftsman on this side of the "pond" and "south of the border." The days of buying a dozen reeds to get one that works are over!

Thanks Shawn!

[scotchboiler]

Has anyone tried these in a Colin Kyo laminate chanter? The Kyo tends to pitch a bit high--I would like it to play somewhere between 475 and 479.

[usmcpiper]

Originally Posted by scotchboiler

Has anyone tried these in a Colin Kyo laminate chanter? The Kyo tends to pitch a bit high--I would like it to play somewhere between 475 and 479.

Yes...the CK chanter I've used Husk Reeds in is a Laminate chanter. Works great!